FILM index

FILM INDEX continued

Small Time ( 18) (Shane Meadows. UK. 1996) 60 mins. Meadows's hilariously cheeky first feature debuted at the 1996 Edinburgh International Film Festival. where it was a resounding success with audiences and critics alike. Focusing on the dodgy deals of a bunch of unemployed lads. the humour is similar to that of Mike Leigh but with more of an inherent sense of mischief. Also screening is Meadows‘s short film Where is The Money Rnnnief’. which is also smartly written. sharply acted and stylishly shot. See feature and review. Glasgow: GET. Gilmorehill.

Smilla's Feeling For Snow (15) (Bille August. Germany/Denmark/Sweden. 1997) Julia Ormond. Gabriel Byrne. Richard Harris. 120 mins. When Greenland native Smilla (Julia ()rmond) investigates the death of her neighbour‘s child 11) a (all. her higth developed ‘sense of snow' convinces her it was murder. An Arctic conspiracy of iceberg-sized proportions unravels in AugUst's version of Peter Hoeg's bestseller. Stark blue photography captures the landscape so effectively it makes you shiver. but doesn't stop the filth from being any more than a bland thriller. Edinburgh: Cameo. Filmhouse.

SpiceWorld: The Movie (PG) (Bob Spiers. UK. 1997) The Spice Girls. Richard E. Grant. Alan Cumming. 93 mins. ‘A 90s Hard Days Nighl. with a pinch of Spinal 721p and a little Speed thrown in.‘ says the publicity material. 'Ihe story chronicles the hectic five days in the lead-up to the girls' first live concert at the Royal Albert Hall and. on the way. crams in so many celebrity cameos. you get the sense this could be the big screen equivalent of Noe/is: House Party. Of course. plenty of hit songs are included too. Glasgow: City Centre ()deon. Showcase. Virgin. Edinburgh: UCI. Irvine: WMR. Paisley: Showcase.

Starship Troopers ( 15) (Paul Verhoeven. US. 1997) Casper Van Dien. Dina Meyer. Denise Richards. 129 mins. Way in the future. Earth is run by a crypto-fascist regime. and the members of the Galactic Armed Forces are sent into space to fight a race of alien bugs hellobent on wiping out humanity. The computer animation work is first rate and. despite its gory slice 'n' dice violence. one reading of the movie's sub- text is decidedly anti-militaristic. Edinburgh: Cameo.

Stlitzen Der Gesellschaft Pillars" 0f

34 THE “ST 20 Feb—S Mar 1998

Society: (PG) (Detlief Sierck. Germany. 1935) 82 mins. Before relocating to Hollywood and renaming himself Douglas Sirk. the director already made his mark in the domestic melodrama genre. A successful rancher returns to Norway for a tour with his circus-owner friend. but his presence reopens old wounds when the ward of a businessman falls in love with him. Edinburgh: Filmhouse.

subUrbia (18) (Richard Linklater. US. 1996) Jayce Bartok. Parker Posey. Ajay Naidu. 121 mins. Director of the generation- deftning Slacker. Linklater turns Eric Bogosian’s play into an American Graffiti- esque profile of a single night in a small town only for riding cars. read hanging around the all-night convenience store. However. this selection of middle-American teens are too obviously schematic to achieve the casual sense of zeitgeist Linklater has managed before. I-"alkirk. Town Hall.

The Sweet Hereafter ( 15) (Atom Egoyan. Canada. 1997) Ian Holm. Bruce Greenwood. Sarah Policy. 1 10 mins. When a small community is torn apart by a school bus accident that claims the lives of most of their children. an ambiguous lawyer with family troubles of his own comes to represent them in a compensation case. The film unfolds in a patchwork of flashbacks and set-pieces. but it's Holm's beautifully judged performance that's the bedrock of the film. As a study of helpless grief. it's rarely been bettered. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.

The Thing (18) (John Carpenter. US. 1982) Kurt Russell. Wilford Brimley. David Clennon. 109 mins. Scientists on an Antarctic research station thaw out an alien creature able to change its shape and horribly murder humans. Extraordinary effects in this tense shocker. which utilises the central gimmick from the original short story in a way the 1951 version did not. Glasgow: Grosvenor.

Thumbelina (U) (Don Bluth. US. 1993) Animator Bluth comes close to rivalling Disney with this charming fairy tale filled with little folk. princes. easy-to-follow messages and a Barry Manilow soundtrack. Young kids will love it and even the cynically hard-hearted may soften. Glasgow: Grosvenor.

Titanic (12) (James Cameron. US. 1997) Leonardo DiCaprio. Kate Winslet. Billy Zane. 194 mins. Cameron tackles the story of the doomed ocean liner through a touching love story that isn‘t overwhelmed by the awesome special effects. Rich girl

Off their trolley: the cast of Small Time

Rose (Winslet) is unhappin engaged to arrogant Cal (Zane) but falls for third-class passenger Jack (DiCaprio): love blossoms as the ship hits an iceberg in the North Atlantic. In all its on-screen glory. Titanic does indeed look like the most expensive film ever made. conveying both the scale of the disaster and the feeling of claustrophobia as the water rises. General release. Tomorrow Never Dies (12) (Roger Spottiswoode. UK. 1997) Pierce Brosnan. Jonathan Pryce. Michelle Yeoh. 119 mins. Media mogul Elliot Carver (Pryce) is manipulating events to bring the planet to the brink of World War Three. but James Bond is on hand to break a few skulls and save the planet. Some of the stunts inspire more admiration than excitement. but. on the plus side. Brosnan has added a more dangerous edge to the charm and Yeoh. doyenne of Hong Kong action films. is a Bond girl who brings a lithe grace to her fight scenes. Glasgow: Showcase. Edinburgh: Cameo. UCl. Showcase: Paisley.

TwentyFourSeven ( 18) (Shane Meadows. UK. 1997) Bob Hoskins. Bruce Jones. Danny Nussbaum. 'Ihis issue‘s subject of ‘Famespotting' went on from the delights of Small Time to make this first full-length feature. which has met with a positive reception from critics to date. Hoskins plays an unemployed bloke who sets up a boxing clttb for local kids. Special preview before cinema release in April. Glasgow: (ii-'1'.

Up 'N' Under (12) (John Godber. UK. 1997) Gary Olsen. Samantha Janus. Neil Morrissey. 98 mins. Combining comic realism with the age old triumph-over- adversity formula. Godber's stageplay is an uplifting tale similar in style and structure to [irassetl ()[f and The Full .‘llonfv. A middle- aged rugby CX-pTOfCSSIOT‘IZII (Olsen) makes winners out of the lazy pub team with the help of sexy blonde gym instructor Hazel (Janus). 'I‘he amusineg self-satirising approach holds an appeal for men and women alike. General release.

Welcome To Sarajevo (15) (Michael Winterbottom. UK. 1997) Steven Dillane. Woody Harrelson. Emira Nusevic. 107 mins. 'Ihe horror of the conflict in Bosnia breaks down the professional detachment of reporter Michael Henderson (Dillane) who decides to smuggle an orphan out of the country. Based on the true story of I'I‘N journalist Michael Nicholson. Winterbottom's film gains further authenticity by being shot on location. An angry. polemical film that barely manages to contain its makers' shame and righteous fury at the West's complacent response to Bosnia's suffering. Glasgow: Odeon Quay. Stirling: MacRobert.

West Side Story (PG) (Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins. US. 1961) Natalie Wood. Richard Beymer. Russ Tamblyn. 155 mins. Romeo And Juliet revisited against a background of New York gangs. Great songs of course. but the playing of the stylised dancing against a realistic background contri ves to make it all look rather camp these days. Stirling: MacRobert.

Wilda (15) (Brian Gilbert. UK. 1997) Stephen Fry. Jude Law. Vanessa Redgrave. 117 mins. The casting of Fry as Victorian wit. novelist and playwright Oscar Wilde seems almost inevitable. and it pays off. with the actor getting beyond surface details to the intelligent. kind man beneath. Gilbert‘s film is gritty in its portrayal of homosexual relationships than most British period dramas. but first and foremost it is a moving story of tragic. obsessive love. Glasgow: UCI Clydcbank. Edinburgh: Filmhouse. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.

The Winter Guest (15) (Alan Rickman. UK. 1997) Phyllida Law. Emma Thompson. Gary Hollywood. 110 mins. There's something about the way Rickman's directorial debut moves from one pair of characters to the next that suggests it‘s based on a play. but that‘s not a criticism. The film works out themes of loss and emotional dependency against a snow-covered Scottish landscape. weaving its icy metaphor through the characters‘ inner lives and the film's computer-enhanced images. The cast is excellent. with Law proving herself one of the country's hidden treasures. Kirkcaldy: Adam Smith.

' Sat mat:

film

glasgow

Film Listings are listed by city, then alphabetically b cinema. Film listings compile by Helen Monaghan.

ABG, MUIIIEND: GLASGOW

380 Clarkston Road. Mtiirend. 0141 633 2123.

Info: ()141 637 2641. £2.80 (£2 before 5pm Mon—Fri). Student: £2.20 (Mon-Thu). Child/()AP: £2.

FRIDAY ZO—THURSDAY 26

Titanic ( 12)

Daily: 7 20

11.15. Fri-Sun mat: 3.10. Flubber (U) Daily: 541). Sat mat: 12.10.

Fri Sun: 2.30.

Up ’N’ Under ( 13) Daily: 8.45.

Good Burger (PU) Sat mat: 11.45. Fri~-Sun: 1.50.

1n 8: Out ( 12) Daily: 6.30. 8.50. Fti Sun: 4.05.

FRIDAY Z7—-THURSDAY 5

Programme likely to be similar to the previous \\ eek. Phone 0141 637 2641 for details and times.

ABG FILM CENTRE: GLASGOW

326 Sauchieltall Street. 0141 332 1592. Info: ()141 332 9513. CC booking: 0141 332 1592. 1.4 (£3.20 before 5pm). Student: £3. ()AP: £3. Child: £2.70. SPFF denotes the Daily Record's Scottish People‘s Filtn Festival which until Sun 22 Feb.

FRDAY ZO-THURSDAYJQ

TitanictlZ)

Fri: 1.15. 7.21).

Sat: 12.20. 4.15. 8.20. Sun—Thu: 2.20. 7.20. 1n&0ut(12)

Daily: 1.15. 3.35. 6.00, 8.50. The Boxer ( 15)

Daily: 1.45. 5.15. 8.25. FIubbertU)

Daily: 1.15. 3.35. 6.00. The Full Monty ( 15)

Daily: 8.50.

Mon—Thu: 1.15. 3.25. 5.45. LA. Confidential (18) Daily: 8.05.

Paws(PG)

Fri—Sun: 1.45. 3.50. 6.00. Touch (15) SPFF

Fri: 5.00.

W

Programme likely to be similar to the previous week. Phone 0141 332 9513 for details and times.

New film due to open on Fri 27: Amlstad (15,)

Programme changes,

Friday 27 February

When we want to presusoma of the cinemas had not flnallsad their

re rammes for the weak

eg nnlng Friday 27 February.

The following new releases are "Italy to be opening on Friday 21.‘ These1 11 replace some of the films runnhtg until Thursday 26 February.

Amistad (15);

Breakdown (15);

Desperate Measures (18):

The Edge (15).